Texas Form 05-911 is the Franchise Tax FAQs and Information Worksheet published by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts that taxable entities use to gather, verify, and reconcile the data needed to complete an annual franchise tax report. It is filed indirectly: the worksheet itself is a preparation tool that feeds the numbers and entity facts into Forms 05-158, 05-169, 05-102, and 05-167, which are then transmitted to the Comptroller through Webfile or by mail.
Roughly 1.3 million Texas franchise tax accounts must reconcile their books each spring, and the Comptroller reports that close to 18% of paper-filed franchise reports arrive with at least one identifying-number or revenue-classification error that traces directly back to a missed line on the 05-911 worksheet. Getting this single document right protects your right to transact business in Texas and prevents the forfeiture letters that follow a missed May 15 deadline.
In this guide, you will learn:
- 📌 What Texas Form 05-911 is, who must complete it, and how it ties into Tax Code Chapter 171
- 🧾 Every line, box, and field on the worksheet explained in plain English with example entries
- 👤 Three full named-filer walkthroughs (LLC, C-corp, and foreign entity) shown in side-by-side tables
- 📬 How to file the downstream franchise tax report through Webfile, mail, or in person, with fees and processing times
- ⚠️ The most common mistakes, misconceptions, and field-level traps that trigger penalties or forfeiture
What Texas Form 05-911 Is and Who Must File It
Texas Form 05-911 is the Comptroller’s official Franchise Tax FAQs and Information Worksheet, currently circulated under the Comptroller’s most recent revision (check the Rev. date in the lower-left corner of the PDF before you start). The worksheet pulls together the facts a filer must transcribe onto the No Tax Due notice, the EZ Computation Report, the Long Form, the Public Information Report (Form 05-102), and the Ownership Information Report (Form 05-167). The Comptroller authorizes the worksheet under Texas Tax Code Chapter 171 and Texas Administrative Code Rule 3.584.
Every taxable entity doing business in Texas must reconcile its data through this worksheet before filing. That includes corporations, LLCs, S-corps, professional associations, business trusts, partnerships (other than general partnerships of natural persons), and out-of-state entities registered with the Texas Secretary of State. Sole proprietors and natural-person general partnerships are not subject to franchise tax and skip the worksheet entirely.
The worksheet is not mailed to Austin. Instead, it stays in the filer’s records as audit support, while the data it produces flows into the annual report. The Comptroller can request the completed worksheet during a four-year audit window under Tax Code §111.0041, so storing a clean copy is part of compliance, not optional housekeeping.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
Filling out 05-911 in one sitting requires a pre-filing checklist. Skipping any of the following items forces you to stop, hunt for paperwork, and risk transcription errors when you restart.
- 11-digit Texas Taxpayer Number. This is the number the Comptroller assigned when your entity registered; without it, your worksheet data cannot be matched to your account in Webfile.
- Texas Secretary of State (SOS) File Number. A separate identifier issued by the SOS at formation; if you confuse it with the Taxpayer Number, the Public Information Report will reject.
- Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN). Required for the franchise account and for cross-checking against IRS records; missing or transposed digits trigger an SSA/IRS mismatch hold.
- Prior-year franchise tax report (Form 05-158, 05-169, or 05-163). Used to confirm the accounting period end date and to roll forward identifying data without retyping errors.
- Federal income tax return for the report year. The starting point for total revenue, cost of goods sold, and compensation; without it, you cannot complete the worksheet’s revenue section.
- Officer, director, member, and manager list with addresses. Needed for the Public Information Report (05-102) or Ownership Information Report (05-167); a missing officer triggers a “Not in Good Standing” status.
- Registered agent name and Texas street address. A P.O. Box alone is not acceptable for the registered agent; using one causes the SOS to reject the report.
- Affiliate / combined group roster. If your entity is part of a combined group under Tax Code §171.1014, you need the reporting entity’s Taxpayer Number and each affiliate’s FEIN.
- NAICS code. Determines whether you qualify for the retail/wholesale tax rate of 0.375% versus the standard 0.75% rate.
- Webfile (XT) number. Mailed each January by the Comptroller; without it, you cannot e-file the downstream report even after a perfect 05-911.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
Texas Form 05-911 lives on the Comptroller’s franchise tax forms page, filed alphabetically by form number. The Comptroller posts a fresh PDF each calendar year because the no-tax-due threshold, the EZ revenue cap, and several deduction figures change annually. Always download the version stamped with the report year you are preparing, not the prior year’s PDF still saved on your desktop.
You may also pick up a paper copy at any Comptroller field office in Austin, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Lubbock, El Paso, McAllen, and other regional cities. Field offices stock the worksheet during the January-through-May filing season; outside that window you may need to request it. Tax practitioners can pull the form through professional software (Drake, Lacerte, UltraTax), which embeds the latest revision automatically.
If you prefer a digital workflow, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader rather than a browser preview. The fillable fields use JavaScript validation that browser PDF viewers strip out, which is why filers often complain that “the form won’t let me type.” Saving the partially completed worksheet in Acrobat preserves your entries; saving from a browser does not. Always print or export the final worksheet to PDF for your records before transferring data to the franchise tax report.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out Texas Form 05-911 Line by Line
The worksheet is organized into a header block, a revenue and deductions section, an apportionment section, an ownership and officer section, and a signature/preparer block. Work top-to-bottom; the later sections depend on numbers calculated above them.
Field 1: Taxpayer Number (11 digits)
This field asks for the 11-digit number the Comptroller assigned when your entity first registered for Texas taxes. Enter the digits left-to-right with no dashes, spaces, or letters; the box accepts exactly 11 numerals. Maria Lopez, sole member of Lopez Consulting LLC, writes 32012345678 in the Taxpayer Number box. If your entity has only an FEIN because it has not yet registered, complete Form AP-114 first to obtain the Taxpayer Number. The most common mistake is entering the FEIN here instead of the Taxpayer Number, which causes the worksheet figures to attach to no account at all and triggers a “no record found” rejection. A common misconception is that the Taxpayer Number and the SOS File Number are the same; they are not, and the Comptroller cross-references them separately.
Field 2: Report Year
This field asks which calendar year’s franchise report the worksheet supports. Enter the four-digit year of the report being filed, which is the year after the accounting period closes. Carlos Ramirez, CFO of Ramirez Industries Inc., enters 2026 because his accounting year ended December 31, 2025. If your entity uses a fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, you still enter 2026 because Texas anchors the report year to the calendar year of the filing deadline. The most common mistake here is entering the accounting year-end year (2025) instead of the report year (2026), which causes the Comptroller to apply the wrong tax rates and thresholds. A misconception is that the report year tracks the federal tax year; it does not, and confusing the two is the single most-cited cause of amended returns.
Field 3: Taxpayer Name
Enter the entity’s legal name exactly as it appears on the Certificate of Formation filed with the Texas Secretary of State. Use upper and lower case as registered, include “LLC,” “Inc.,” “L.P.,” or “P.A.” as part of the name, and do not abbreviate words the SOS spelled out. Janet Nguyen writes Nguyen Family Holdings, LLC because that is the exact name on her 2019 Certificate of Formation. If the entity has registered an assumed name (DBA) with Form 503, the assumed name does not go here; only the legal name belongs in this field. The most common mistake is dropping the entity-type designator (“LLC” or “Inc.”), which causes the Comptroller’s match algorithm to flag the entity as unregistered. A misconception is that minor punctuation differences (commas, periods) are ignored; they are not, and an unmatched name freezes the account.
Field 4: Mailing Address
This field asks where the Comptroller should send official franchise tax correspondence, including notices of forfeiture. Enter the street address or P.O. Box, city, two-letter state code, and ZIP+4 if known. Aisha Patel enters 1500 Main St., Suite 200, Houston, TX 77002-1234 as the mailing address for Patel Logistics LLC. A P.O. Box is acceptable for the mailing address, unlike the registered agent address. The most common mistake is using an old address from a closed office, which causes notices to bounce and a forfeiture process to begin without the filer ever knowing. A misconception is that updating the address with the IRS automatically updates the Comptroller; it does not, and you must file Form 05-911 data through Webfile or submit Form AP-114-S to change it.
Field 5: NAICS Code
Enter the six-digit North American Industry Classification System code that best matches your principal business activity, drawn from the Census Bureau’s NAICS lookup. Marcus Johnson, owner of Johnson Hardware Inc., enters 444110 because his store sells home-improvement supplies at retail. If your entity engages in multiple activities, choose the code matching the activity that produces the most revenue. The most common mistake is selecting a manufacturing code (31-33) when the entity actually wholesales finished goods, which forfeits the 0.375% retail/wholesale rate and doubles the tax to 0.75%. A misconception is that the IRS NAICS on the federal return must match Texas; while consistency is wise, Texas allows a different code when the Texas activity differs from the entity’s overall activity.
Field 6: Accounting Year Begin Date
This field asks for the first day of the 12-month accounting period the report covers, formatted MM/DD/YYYY. Enter the day after the prior report’s accounting year end date. Lopez Consulting LLC enters 01/01/2025 because the prior year’s accounting period ended 12/31/2024. For a first-year filer, the begin date is the date the entity became subject to franchise tax, typically the date of formation or the date it began doing business in Texas. The most common mistake is leaving a one-day gap or one-day overlap between accounting periods, which causes the Comptroller to assess two partial-period reports. A misconception is that you can pick any 12-month window; you cannot, and Texas requires the period to align with the federal accounting period under Rule 3.584.
Field 7: Accounting Year End Date
Enter the last day of the 12-month accounting period in MM/DD/YYYY format. For most calendar-year filers, this is 12/31 of the prior year. Ramirez Industries Inc. enters 12/31/2025 for its 2026 report. Fiscal-year filers enter the actual fiscal year-end (for example, 06/30/2025). The most common mistake is entering the report-year December 31 (12/31/2026) instead of the accounting-period end (12/31/2025), which causes a future-dated period rejection. A misconception is that a short period (less than 12 months) is averaged to a full year; it is not, and short-period revenue must be annualized under Tax Code §171.1011(o) before testing the no-tax-due threshold.
Field 8: Total Revenue
This field asks for total revenue from your federal return adjusted by Texas-specific add-backs and exclusions. Pull the gross receipts from federal Form 1120 line 1a, Form 1120-S line 1a, or Form 1065 line 1a, then add back Schedule K items and subtract Texas exclusions such as bad-debt recoveries already taxed and certain flow-through funds. Patel Logistics LLC enters 2,450,000 after adding $50,000 of Schedule K interest income to $2,400,000 of federal gross receipts. If total revenue is at or below the no-tax-due threshold ($2.47 million for reports originally due in 2024 and after, check the current threshold), you file the No Tax Due Information Report instead of the long form. The most common mistake is using net revenue from the federal return; Texas measures gross receipts, and using net causes a six-figure understatement. A misconception is that 1099-MISC pass-through payments are excluded; they are not unless the entity qualifies as a legal services provider or staffing services taxpayer under §171.1011.
Field 9: Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
Enter the deduction for cost of goods sold computed under Tax Code §171.1012. The Texas COGS definition is narrower than the federal definition; you may deduct only direct costs of acquiring or producing goods, not all federal Schedule A costs. Johnson Hardware Inc. enters 875,000, which is its federal COGS minus $25,000 of advertising allocations that Texas disallows. If the entity sells services rather than goods, this field stays blank and the entity instead claims the compensation deduction in Field 10. The most common mistake is copying the federal Schedule A total verbatim, which inflates the deduction and triggers an audit adjustment. A misconception is that real estate developers cannot use COGS; they can under §171.1012(i), and skipping that election overstates margin.
Field 10: Compensation
Enter wages, salaries, and benefits up to the per-employee cap published by the Comptroller (the cap is indexed and changes biennially; verify the current cap on the franchise tax page). Include W-2 Box 5 Medicare wages plus employer-paid health insurance, retirement contributions, and workers’ compensation. Nguyen Family Holdings, LLC enters 410,000 for its three employees, after capping the CEO’s compensation at the statutory limit. Compensation excludes payments to independent contractors and 1099 workers. The most common mistake is including the full executive salary above the cap, which inflates the deduction and triggers a notice of adjustment. A misconception is that owner-operators in single-member LLCs can deduct draws as compensation; they cannot, because draws are not W-2 wages.
Field 11: Apportionment Factor
Enter the Texas apportionment factor, calculated as Texas gross receipts divided by total gross receipts everywhere. Express it as a decimal carried to six places (0.123456). Ramirez Industries Inc. enters 0.625000 because $5 million of its $8 million in gross receipts came from Texas customers. For entities operating only in Texas, the factor is 1.000000. The most common mistake is sourcing receipts to the location of the office rather than the destination of the sale, which is the correct sourcing rule under Tax Code §171.103. A misconception is that throwback rules apply; Texas does not use throwback, so receipts sourced to a state with no nexus simply fall out of the Texas numerator.
Field 12: Officer, Director, Member, and Manager Information
This field asks for the name, title, and mailing address of each officer, director, member, or manager who served during the accounting period. List each individual on a separate line; attach a continuation sheet if more than four. Carlos Ramirez lists himself as President, his sister Lucia as Secretary, and outside director Greg Tan, each with a Houston business address. For LLCs, list members if member-managed and managers if manager-managed; not both, unless both serve. The most common mistake is omitting a director who served only part of the year; the Comptroller requires anyone who served at any time. A misconception is that home addresses are required; the business mailing address is acceptable and is the safer choice for personal privacy.
Field 13: Registered Agent and Registered Office
Enter the registered agent’s name and Texas street address (no P.O. Box). Aisha Patel enters Capitol Corporate Services, Inc., 206 E. 9th St., Suite 1300, Austin, TX 78701. Confirm the agent has accepted the appointment under Texas BOC §5.201; listing an agent who has not consented is a misdemeanor. The most common mistake is using the entity’s own mailing address when there is no consenting agent on file, which voids service of process. A misconception is that you can change the registered agent through 05-911 alone; you cannot, and you must file SOS Form 401 to make the change official.
Field 14: Signature and Date
The officer or authorized agent signs and dates the worksheet, and the same signature carries onto the franchise report. Enter the signer’s printed name, title, phone number, and the date in MM/DD/YYYY format. Janet Nguyen prints Janet Nguyen, Manager, (512) 555-0114, 04/22/2026 above her signature. For Webfile users, the digital Webfile (XT) credential serves as the signature. The most common mistake is signing as “owner” when the legal title is “manager” or “member”; mismatched titles trigger SOS verification holds. A misconception is that the preparer’s signature replaces the officer’s; it does not, and an unsigned officer line voids the report under Tax Code §171.203.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
Scenario 1: Maria Lopez — Single-Member LLC Below the Threshold
Maria runs Lopez Consulting LLC, a one-person marketing consultancy in Austin with $180,000 in 2025 gross receipts.
| Form Section | What Maria Enters |
|---|---|
| Taxpayer Number | 32012345678 |
| Report Year | 2026 |
| Taxpayer Name | Lopez Consulting, LLC |
| Mailing Address | 2401 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78704 |
| NAICS Code | 541613 (marketing consulting) |
| Accounting Year Begin | 01/01/2025 |
| Accounting Year End | 12/31/2025 |
| Total Revenue | 180,000 |
| COGS / Compensation | Blank — under threshold |
| Apportionment Factor | 1.000000 |
| Officer/Member List | Maria Lopez, Member, 2401 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78704 |
| Registered Agent | Maria Lopez, 2401 S. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78704 |
| Filing Path | No Tax Due Information Report (Form 05-163), filed via Webfile |
Scenario 2: Carlos Ramirez — Texas C-Corp Filing the Long Form
Carlos is CFO of Ramirez Industries Inc., a manufacturer headquartered in Houston with $8 million in 2025 revenue and operations in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.
| Form Section | What Carlos Enters |
|---|---|
| Taxpayer Number | 17654321098 |
| Report Year | 2026 |
| Taxpayer Name | Ramirez Industries, Inc. |
| Mailing Address | 5300 Memorial Dr., Houston, TX 77007 |
| NAICS Code | 332710 (machine shops) |
| Accounting Year Begin | 01/01/2025 |
| Accounting Year End | 12/31/2025 |
| Total Revenue | 8,000,000 |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 3,200,000 |
| Compensation | 2,100,000 (used only if greater than COGS) |
| Apportionment Factor | 0.625000 |
| Officer/Director List | Carlos Ramirez (Pres.), Lucia Ramirez (Sec.), Greg Tan (Dir.) |
| Registered Agent | CT Corporation System, 1999 Bryan St., Suite 900, Dallas, TX 75201 |
| Filing Path | Long Form (Form 05-158-A/B) plus PIR (05-102), filed via Webfile |
Scenario 3: Aisha Patel — Out-of-State Entity Registered in Texas
Aisha manages Patel Logistics LLC, a Delaware LLC qualified to do business in Texas with $2.45 million of 2025 revenue, $1.6 million of which is sourced to Texas.
| Form Section | What Aisha Enters |
|---|---|
| Taxpayer Number | 12998877665 |
| Report Year | 2026 |
| Taxpayer Name | Patel Logistics, LLC (Delaware) |
| Mailing Address | 1500 Main St., Suite 200, Houston, TX 77002 |
| NAICS Code | 484110 (general freight trucking) |
| Accounting Year Begin | 01/01/2025 |
| Accounting Year End | 12/31/2025 |
| Total Revenue | 2,450,000 |
| Apportionment Factor | 0.653061 |
| Compensation | 620,000 |
| Member List | Aisha Patel, Sole Member, 1500 Main St., Suite 200, Houston, TX 77002 |
| Registered Agent | Capitol Corporate Services, Inc., 206 E. 9th St., Suite 1300, Austin, TX 78701 |
| Filing Path | EZ Computation (Form 05-169) plus PIR (05-102), filed via Webfile |
How to File the Completed Form
The worksheet itself stays in your files; the downstream franchise report is what reaches the Comptroller. There are three filing channels, and each has its own logistics, fees, and proof-of-filing rules.
Online via Webfile. This is the channel the Comptroller prefers and the only one available for the No Tax Due Report and most EZ filings. Log in with your 11-digit Taxpayer Number and Webfile (XT) number, transcribe the data from your 05-911 worksheet into the screens, and submit. There is no filing fee for the report itself; tax due (if any) is paid by ACH debit, credit card (subject to a 2.25% convenience fee through Texas.gov), or TEXNET for payments over $100,000. Processing is immediate, and Webfile displays a confirmation number you should save as your proof of filing.
By mail. Print the completed downstream form (05-158, 05-169, 05-163, 05-102, or 05-167), sign it, and mail to Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, P.O. Box 149348, Austin, TX 78714-9348. Tax payments go to a different P.O. Box (149356); putting the check in the report envelope delays posting by 7 to 10 days. Use Certified Mail with Return Receipt so you have a postmark proving timely filing under the mailbox rule of Tax Code §111.053. Processing time is 6 to 8 weeks.
In person. Walk the signed report into any Comptroller field office during business hours. The receiving clerk date-stamps your copy on the spot, which becomes your proof of filing. Field offices accept checks and money orders but generally not cash; bring a paper copy plus a duplicate to be stamped. Field-office filings are batched and forwarded to Austin, so processing still takes 4 to 6 weeks.
By fax. The Comptroller accepts certain franchise filings at (512) 463-4902, but does not recommend it; fax filings are scanned, OCR-read, and prone to misread digits. Keep the fax confirmation page as proof; processing time matches mail.
What Happens After You File
Once the downstream report posts, the Comptroller updates your account to active and in good standing and issues a Certificate of Account Status you can pull from the public lookup tool. Banks, lenders, and counterparties rely on that certificate to confirm your entity can legally transact business in Texas. The certificate refreshes automatically each year you remain compliant.
If the report contains errors, the Comptroller mails a Notice of Tax Due or Request for Information to the address in Field 4. You typically have 30 days to respond before penalties accrue. Failing to respond within 45 days can lead to a forfeiture of right to transact business under Tax Code §171.251, and continued non-compliance triggers forfeiture of charter under §171.309, which exposes officers and directors to personal liability for the entity’s debts.
To revive a forfeited entity, you file Form 05-391 (Tax Clearance Letter Request) plus all delinquent reports and payments, and then submit SOS Form 801 (Application for Reinstatement). The reinstatement fee at the SOS is $75 plus the $25 tax-clearance fee, and the entire process takes 3 to 6 weeks.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
- Confusing the Taxpayer Number with the FEIN or SOS File Number. The wrong number attaches your data to no account, and the report rejects.
- Entering the accounting year as the report year. The Comptroller applies the wrong rates and thresholds, forcing an amended return.
- Dropping the entity-type designator from the legal name. “Inc.,” “LLC,” and “L.P.” are part of the legal name; without them, the SOS match fails.
- Listing a P.O. Box for the registered agent. Texas BOC requires a physical Texas street address; a P.O. Box voids service of process.
- Using net revenue instead of gross revenue. Texas franchise tax measures gross receipts; net revenue understates the figure by tens of thousands.
- Copying federal Schedule A COGS verbatim. Texas COGS is narrower than the IRS definition; over-deducting triggers an audit adjustment.
- Including independent contractor payments in compensation. Only W-2 wages and qualifying benefits count; 1099 payments do not.
- Picking a manufacturing NAICS for a wholesaler. The wrong NAICS forfeits the 0.375% rate and doubles the tax.
- Omitting a partial-year officer or director. Anyone who served at any time during the period must appear on the PIR.
- Forgetting to annualize a short period. Short accounting periods must be annualized to test the no-tax-due threshold under §171.1011(o).
- Filing the worksheet itself with the Comptroller. 05-911 is a preparation tool; only the downstream report (05-158, 05-169, 05-163, 05-102, 05-167) is filed.
- Missing the May 15 deadline. A late report draws a $50 late-filing penalty plus 5% (or 10% after 30 days) of any tax due, plus interest under §111.060.
Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
- Do download the worksheet fresh each year from the Comptroller’s forms page so you have current thresholds and rates.
- Do reconcile total revenue to your federal return before you transcribe; reconciliation prevents 80% of all franchise audit adjustments.
- Do verify your Webfile (XT) number in early January; if it never arrived, request a replacement before April so you can e-file by May 15.
- Do save the completed PDF and the Webfile confirmation page in two locations; the Comptroller can audit four years back.
- Do keep officer and registered-agent addresses current; outdated addresses cause forfeiture notices to vanish into the mail.
- Do sign as the legal title (manager, member, officer); mismatched titles trigger verification holds at the SOS.
Don’ts
- Don’t mail the 05-911 worksheet itself; it stays in your files as audit support, not a public record.
- Don’t pay tax due in the same envelope as the report; payments go to a separate P.O. Box and mixing them delays posting.
- Don’t rely on browser-based PDF preview to fill the form; entries can vanish on save.
- Don’t list the same person as both registered agent and sole officer at the same residential address unless you accept the privacy trade-off.
- Don’t forget to update the address with the Comptroller after a move; the IRS and SOS do not share updates with the Comptroller.
- Don’t file an amended report without first calling the Comptroller’s franchise tax line at (800) 252-1381; some “errors” are actually rounding tolerances.
Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help
Pros of Filing on Your Own
- You save the $300 to $1,500 a CPA typically charges for franchise tax preparation.
- You learn the form intimately, which makes future filings faster every year.
- You control the schedule and avoid waiting for a preparer’s queue in April.
- Webfile’s screens guide single-entity, single-state filers through the math automatically.
- For a No Tax Due filer below the threshold, the entire process takes under 30 minutes.
Cons of Filing on Your Own
- COGS and compensation calculations diverge from federal definitions, and small errors compound.
- Combined-group filings under §171.1014 require complex affiliate worksheets that are easy to misstate.
- Apportionment sourcing rules are technical, and incorrect sourcing inflates Texas tax liability.
- You bear sole responsibility for forfeiture risk if a deadline slips.
- A single transposed Taxpayer Number can freeze the account for weeks during the busy season.
FAQs
Do I mail Texas Form 05-911 to the Comptroller?
No. Form 05-911 is a worksheet you keep for your records. Only the downstream franchise tax report and information reports (Forms 05-158, 05-169, 05-163, 05-102, or 05-167) are filed.
Is there a filing fee for the franchise tax report?
No. The Comptroller charges no filing fee for the report itself, but tax due is paid by ACH, credit card (with a 2.25% convenience fee), or TEXNET for amounts over $100,000.
Do I write my Taxpayer Number or my FEIN in Field 1?
No to FEIN. You enter the 11-digit Texas Taxpayer Number assigned by the Comptroller. The FEIN goes in a separate field on the downstream report, not in Field 1 of the worksheet.
What if my entity had zero Texas revenue this year?
Yes, you still file. Every taxable entity must file a report, even if revenue is zero or below the no-tax-due threshold. Use Form 05-163 (No Tax Due Information Report).
Do I list officers who served only part of the year on the PIR?
Yes. Anyone who served as an officer, director, member, or manager at any point during the accounting period must appear on the Public Information Report.
Can my registered agent address be a P.O. Box?
No. Texas BOC §5.201 requires a physical Texas street address for the registered office. A P.O. Box voids service of process and triggers SOS rejection.
Is the report year the same as the accounting year?
No. The report year is the calendar year of the May 15 deadline. The accounting year is the 12-month period ending the year before. They differ by one year for most calendar-year filers.
Do I sign as “owner” if I’m a single-member LLC?
No. Sign as “Member” (member-managed) or “Manager” (manager-managed) to match the title on file with the Texas Secretary of State. “Owner” is not a recognized statutory title.
What if I miss the May 15 deadline?
No mercy from the Comptroller. A $50 late-filing penalty applies immediately, plus 5% of tax due (10% after 30 days) and statutory interest. Continued non-filing leads to forfeiture.
Can I file the franchise report by email?
No. The Comptroller does not accept franchise reports by email. Use Webfile, U.S. mail, in-person delivery, or the limited fax channel.
Do I need to file Form 05-911 if I’m a sole proprietor?
No. Sole proprietorships and natural-person general partnerships are not taxable entities under Tax Code §171.0002 and do not file franchise tax reports.
Is the worksheet revision date the same as the report year?
No necessarily. The Comptroller dates the worksheet by the year it was published; the report year refers to the year the downstream report is due. Always check both before filing.
Can I deduct my owner draws as compensation on the worksheet?
No. Owner draws from a single-member LLC or partnership are not W-2 wages and do not qualify for the compensation deduction under Tax Code §171.1013.
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